The torch relay of the 2007 Special Olympics kicked off its
final leg in China Tuesday evening.
Chinese and foreign law
enforcement officials and a representative of the 2007 Special
Olympics World Summer Games hold a torch at the Juyongguan section
of the Great Wall near Beijing last night during the Law
Enforcement Torch Run.
Wu Guanzheng, member of the Standing Committee of the Political
Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, ignited the flame during a
ceremony at the foot of the Great Wall and declared the Law
Enforcement Torch Run in China officially open.
The torch will pass through Beijing, Harbin, Dalian, Xi'an,
Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi, Guangzhou, Jiaxing, Wenzhou, Nanjing, Hong
Kong and Macao before the Special Olympics opens in Shanghai on
October 2.
Escorted by Special Olympics athletes and police officers, the
Flame of Hope had already traveled through Greece, Egypt, Britain,
the United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia after it was
ignited in Athens, Greece, on June 29.
The Special Olympics, which will be held in Shanghai from
October 2-11, will bring together some 10,000 athletes and trainers
from more than 160 countries and regions.
The Special Olympics was established in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy
Shriver to provide mentally retarded children and adults the
opportunity to train for and take part in Olympic sporting
events.
(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2007)
